1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wheel hub with a suspension of the type known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,169 and NO 53954, which describe wheel hubs which are fastened by one or more fastening elements to a body that is to be relieved of shocks and other pulsating loads, preferably a vehicle, the hub including a swivel axle around which a hub body is rotatably seated, a remaining part of a wheel construction being intended to be fastened to the hub body, and a resilient element being positioned between the fastening elements and the hub body.
2. The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,169 describes a resilient wheel which includes a hub and a wheel structure. The hub is divided into a non-resilient part and a resilient part, and the wheel structure is mounted on the resilient part. The suspension of the wheel structure is such that the non-resilient part and the resilient part are mutually connected by elastic members which allow a mutual displacement of the hub and the wheel structure.
However, this resilient wheel described in this patent has disadvantages. The wheel constitutes an integral structure and may only with much difficulty be used for different applications. Furthermore, both the part that is non-resilient and the part that is resilient must be constructed in such a manner that the elastic members may be fastened to these parts. The non-resilient part and its mass are very big, which reduces the resilience. Finally, the wheel guidance and steering are very unstable and ambiguous, both in horizontal and in vertical direction as the elastic elements are part of the guidance and steering of the wheel.
NO 53954 describes a wheel hub which is resilient and which includes a hub that is hollow and an axle that extends through the hub. The axle is intended to be fastened to a body to be suspended and the hub is rotatably seated around the axle. A turning spring is mounted between the hub and the axle. In a resting position, a centre of the hub is positioned vertically below the axle. In a situation under load, the hub will swing upward and simultaneously swing forward or backward.
This resilient hub described in the above-mentioned publication has several important disadvantages. The geometry of the resilience is not well-defined. It is not possible to determine whether the hub will swing forward or backward in a situation under load. This means that it is not possible to establish any steering properties. In a situation under load, there is further a risk of overloading the hub so that no resilience occurs because the hub is loaded to an extreme position. In a situation under load, the hub will further perform a swinging movement around the axle, which movement will consist of a vertical contribution and a horizontal contribution having the same size as the vertical contribution. This further reduces any steering geometry considerably. Finally, a moment load on the axle will occur when mounted on applications to be suspended, and possibilities of using different resilient elements are limited.
It is the object of the present invention to provide the possibility of providing resilience for a wheel by means that do not possess the above-mentioned disadvantages and consequently have a small non-resilient mass and establish stable steering, and which may at the same time be used in many applications.